6. Work with School Systems

The work with school systems has been an intrinsic part of the adolescent project in Sarwar. Focussed work on with schools began in September 2009 in 7 schools of the project area. A total of 145 adolescents in schools were addressed. Different activities were organised with school students i.e. essay writing, training on LSE, debate competitions and leadership development. Consequently, systematic work was carried out with teachers and students of government schools in different clusters. During the period 2009-2015, approximately 6064 adolescents and 100 teachers have participated in various activities with government schools. These included:

Participation in School Enrolment Drive: In 2010-2011 rallies were organised at the beginning of the academic session, to motivate children from marginalised groups to enrol in schools in large numbers.

Training of Adolescents in Schools: In 2011-2012 an effort was made by the members of the Yuva Manch to enrol school going adolescents as members of Yuva Manch. They also organised trainings in leadership, self expression and sanitation and hygiene for these students.

Mainstreaming of Out of School Children: In 2012-13, a total of 43 children who were out of school were mainstreamed in schools. 3 students were also enrolled in private schools as per RTE. In 2013-14, 50 adolescents who had attended the long duration camp in Inderpura, were mainstreamed in the schools In 2014, a total of 27 girls of 11 villages were mainstreamed in the KGBV in Kekri and Arain blocks.

Organising Essay Competition: In 2012-13, a total of 430 students participated in an essay competition on Hindi Diwas.

Monitoring Supply and Quality of Mid-day Meal: The project team, alongwith the teachers, made constant effort to check the supply and quality of mid-day meal in the schools in the project area.

45 Interactions with Members of SMC: Regular interactions to improve school conditions and facilities have been carried out across government schools in the project area. Training of SMC members have also been organised wherein the role of SMC members, their rights and duties have been explained and discussed along with maintaining income and expenditure account.

Academic Support for Quality Improvement: In several schools an effort was made to help students with Hindi writing and solving problems in Maths, especially definitions and recognition of geometrical shapes. Discussions were carried out with teachers on CCE and the need to maintain individual record of students’ progress.

Training on Health and Hygiene: Effort was made to share information on the adverse impact of tobacco and alcohol addiction, the importance of nutritious diet and following hygienic practices.

Training of Head Teachers and Teachers: Trainings have also been organised with around 100 teachers on the following issues: National Curriculum Framework, Right to Education, Functioning of School Management Committees, Identifying Dropout Students, Maintaining Teacher’s Diary and Developing Students Portfolio and Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation.

About AAEA

Ajmer Adult Education Association (AAEA), a registered voluntary organization, has been working in Ajmer district since 1971.